


How They Work

by Amy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Dinner, Drabble Sequence, Drinking, F/F, Future Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, background Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov, people who don't discuss their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 17:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15296559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amy/pseuds/Amy
Summary: Barring corporate takeover or intergalactic war, Pepper and Natasha meet once a week for dinner.





	How They Work

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FreshBrains](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreshBrains/gifts).



Barring corporate takeover or intergalactic war, they meet once a week for dinner.

Pepper got to know Natasha when she claimed to be Natalie. She understands Tony's anger over that, but can't bring herself to share it. Pepper would do a lot for her job. She'd do anything to protect what's important to her. The whole experience taught her that Natasha shares those values, and that she can make a good martini. Pepper appreciates those qualities in friends.

It's Natasha's turn to pick the restaurant. When Pepper arrives, Natasha's already seated, fresh condensation beading off their first round of drinks.

* * *

Pepper and Natasha have perfected the art of knowing a great deal about each other while discussing none of it. Pepper, for example, knows that Natasha has been dating Sharon Carter for a few months now, but aside from a handful of minor irritations and delightful surprises that slid into casual conversation unacknowledged, they haven't discussed it at all. (Hill, on the other hand, is a wonderful gossip.)

Still, Pepper notices an ease in the set of Natasha's shoulders that hadn't been there before. It reminds her of when she and Tony broke up, and all the tension bled away.

* * *

"So," Natasha says.

Pepper waits. She's been friends with Natasha long enough to know how this works; Natasha already has the information she wants confirmed, but that doesn't mean Pepper has to make it easy for her.

Both women are good at silence.

"Maya Hansen," Natasha says, and rests her chin on her open palm.

Pepper has a thing for scientists. She can hardly be blamed for it, she thinks; she likes clever hands and brilliant ideas and people who know how to put the two together.

"What about her?" Pepper asks, like her blush isn't obvious.

"I thought so."

* * *

"There's nothing wrong with it," Natasha says. "She's pretty."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Pepper lies.

Natasha knows she's lying. Pepper knows Natasha knows she's lying. This is how their friendship works.

"And she's smart," Natasha says lightly, like she thinks maybe Pepper was insulted by the implication she's shallow. She knows that Pepper doesn't think that, and Pepper knows she knows. This is how they work, too.

"She is smart," Pepper agrees. The Extremis flowing through her veins is proof enough of that.

"So what's stopping you?" Natasha asks, and Pepper lets the silence between them build.

* * *

"She almost got Tony killed," Pepper says finally.

"Lots of people almost get Tony killed. I've almost gotten Tony killed, and you still like me." Natasha's smirk manages to seem almost self-deprecating. "I thought that was part of the draw."

Pepper smiles at that, genuinely, which she knows makes Natasha more uncomfortable than when they both fully embrace artifice. "It is, sometimes," she says.

"I'm trying to think of someone I care about who hasn't almost gotten me killed, and I can't," Natasha says. "Is that weird?"

"It's a little weird," Pepper says.

"Weird can be good. Ask her out."

* * *

The nice thing about spending time with Natasha is that they're both so used to playing roles to get what they need that neither misses the undercurrents, the pieces that no one wants to say out loud. No one is forced to actually confront their feelings; they can just let them pass observed but unacknowledged.

"Tony," Natasha says, "would be happy for you. He'd probably think it's hot."

"Tony," Pepper counters, like she hasn't been considering this for weeks, "has nothing to do with who I do or don't sleep with."

"Of course not," Natasha agrees, and they move on.

* * *

They don't get drunk at their dinners. They have two drinks each; it doesn't seem to impact Natasha, and it's enough for Pepper to feel it, but not enough for her to lose any amount of control. Control is not something she gives up easily; she knows that Natasha understands that more than most.

Their friendship is a labyrinth, with monsters waiting around every corner, but they've learned the maze well enough that it can feel like a welcome challenge. She revels in it. The dance keeps Pepper on her toes, but she embraces her choice to learn the steps.

* * *

Sometimes Pepper's careful dance with Natasha feels too much like the way she and Tony let things go for so long.

"I know you're happy with Sharon," Pepper says, "but that doesn't mean I need to find someone."

It's closer to honesty than they normally go, and Pepper recognizes the surprise flashing across Natasha's face before she schools her features.

"Me having a relationship doesn't mean you need to find someone? Or me being happy?" Natasha's words are playful, but her eyes are sharp.

The problem with starting things with Natasha is the way that Natasha chooses to finish them.

* * *

By unspoken agreement, things don't get awkward. Both Pepper and Natasha have learned how to laugh off enough in their daily lives that an unexpected show of emotion isn't enough to deter them for more than a moment.

They make small talk through dessert, share stories about mutual friends and read between each other's lines. They do not discuss the questions left unanswered, and the larger questions left unasked. Pepper files the question of what she'll do away, and makes a mental note to deal with it later.

The air is electric with possibility in the spaces between their words.

* * *

They split the check: half from the black Stark Industries AmEx Pepper always carries, half from Natasha's no-questions-asked SHIELD account. They tip well enough that they're always enthusiastically welcomed back.

"I'm glad we had this chat," Pepper says.

"Me too," Natasha says, as genuine as she knows how to be.

"I know a new sushi place," Pepper says instead of acknowledging it. "I'll have my assistant pull a few strings next week."

Natasha doesn't ask if Pepper will call Maya. Pepper wouldn't tell her either way, but she knows Natasha will know how it went anyway.

It's how they work.


End file.
